Maggie Cook, who’d befriended me when I was new to the city and completely alone, who’d invited me over for Christmas, and who’d given me gentle guidance in this dangerous new world of mythics, would pay for my freedom with her life. She’d fallen into Quentin’s psychopathic hands, and I’d done nothing to help her. After tonight, he wouldn’t need her anymore. With the prize he was about to claim, he wouldn’t leave any loose ends alive.

And finally, an unknown number of nameless, faceless people would pay for my freedom once Quentin, the most powerful empath anyone had ever seen, held an artifact that could amplify his powers twentyfold. He’d be unstoppable.

I was the only one who knew his plan.

My eyes slid closed. The urge to run, to flee, to get on that cargo ship and never look back pounded through me. Gillian had told me I would run away. She’d accepted it. She’d been okay with it.

But no matter what happens, you won’t lose your compassion, will you?

Hard years had followed her death, each one full of people who’d rejected me, deceived me, used me, or just flat out didn’t give a damn about me. And at some point between then and now, I’d broken my promise. I’d stopped caring about anyone but myself.

I opened my eyes. The shadow of the cargo ship had grown clearer.

“I can’t,” I groaned miserably.

Vera looked over. “Can’t what?”

“I can’t do this. I need to go back.”

Her jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right?”

I took one last look at the ship—at my escape—and shook my head. “I wish I was.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“You’re crazy,” Vera informed me.

I had to agree.

“You sure you want to do this?”

Not at all.

“We can return to my boat.”

Teeth clenched, I swung off her motorcycle. “I’ve got to do this. I explained why.”

She pushed her helmet visor up. “You don’t owe anyone anything, Kit.”

From where I was standing, it felt like I owed a lot of people quite a bit. Even if I could ignore screwing over Lienna, whom I’d only known for a few days, and even if I could ignore my friendship with Maggie, who was a grown woman and technically responsible for herself, I couldn’t fail Gillian. She’d sacrificed her final few years to give me a chance to become someone better than a guy who’d run away from this.

Vera scanned my face. “Well, if you make it through the next day without landing behind bars again, have Jenkins contact me. I still owe you a one-way ticket off this continent.”

I nodded, even though I knew the chances of that were well below zero.

She stared into the distance, then revved the motorcycle’s engine. “By the way, if you waltz your noble ass in there right now, your little agent friend is going to walk out of the elevator, spot you, and put you down with a spell in two seconds flat. Just FYI.”

I stared at her. “That’s my future? You saw it?”

“Just now.” She arched her eyebrows, then slid her visor down. “Good luck.”

With another snarl, the bike squealed away from the curb. Vera zoomed into the evening traffic, leaving me standing on the sidewalk beside the MPD precinct’s shared parking garage.

Well, shit. I sure could’ve used more of that seer forewarning, but at least I knew what to expect in the next five minutes.

I released a halluci-bomb on every mind in my vicinity, making myself invisible to all eyes, then slunk down the ramp, past the ticket machine, and into the dim garage interior. Passing a silver BMW and a truly gorgeous Maserati—not the MPD vehicles, obviously—I ducked behind a thick pillar.

Just past the concrete support was the battle-ready fleet of the world’s most secret and powerful organization: six MPD smart cars. And just past those was the door to the elevators where, according to Vera’s vision, Lienna was about to appear.

Last I’d checked, it was just after eight o’clock. Counting travel time, it was probably around eight thirty. A late end to the day for a rookie agent, but Lienna was probably trying to make up lost ground after my escape.

I’d barely planned my next move before the elevator doors opened and Lienna walked out. Her satchel was hooked over her shoulder, beads clinking in her raven ponytail and an assortment of jewelry hanging around her neck—including her anti-magic cat’s eye pendant, which I’d abandoned on the café table before escaping. She had to activate it for it to block my magic, and she had no reason to do that while walking out to her car.

She didn’t look threatening, one arm cradling a Blythe-like stack of folders while she felt around her coat pockets for car keys. Her shoulders had an exhausted, almost defeated hunch that I’d never seen before.

Ignoring a squirm of guilt, I focused on her mind. As she walked up to the driver’s door of her car, I brought a vision to life.

The elevator door chimed again. Blythe strode out, wavy blond hair blowing back from her face and her mouth pressed thin. She strode toward the line of cars.

“Agent Shen!” she barked.

Lienna recoiled as her superior bore down on her. “Captain Blythe? I thought you’d left for the day.”

Oh, oops. I’d assumed Blythe was a cyborg who didn’t eat, sleep, or go home at night.

“Is something wrong?” she added.

“Obviously,” Blythe growled, continuing toward the young agent. “We have a problem to discuss.”

“What’s that?”

Fake-Blythe said nothing. She didn’t have anything to discuss with Lienna, but I did—and while my Cap-tastic projection had been delaying Lienna from getting in her car, I’d snuck up behind her, still invisible.

Letting Fake-Blythe disappear, I pulled Lienna’s satchel off her shoulder and slung it away from us.

She whipped around, folders spilling to the concrete floor as her hands rose defensively. I caught her wrists and pushed her back into the car. With a twist of her arm, she freed one hand—and drove her fist into my gut.

Oof. Yeah, I deserved that.

As gently as possible, I body-checked her into the car. Catching her free arm again, I pinned her with my larger size and weight. She squirmed violently, trying to break my hold, but I had a good grip.

She stomped on my foot and when I flinched, she almost landed a headbutt.

“Lienna!” I gasped. “Just hold still for a second!”

“Let me go!” she yelled furiously. “You lying, cheating son of a—”

I mashed her harder into the car before she pushed me off balance.

“Was escaping not good enough for you?” she snarled, viciously kicking my ankles. “You came back for some revenge too?”

“No! I came back because I need your help.”

“My help? What makes you think I’d ever—”

“Because if we don’t stop Quentin, he’s going to kill Maggie and escape with an artifact that can amplify his abilities by twenty.”

She stopped struggling, and I panted from the effort of holding her—and from the throbbing bruises she’d inflicted. I should’ve gotten my explanation out faster.

Her chest heaved, and we both paused to catch our breath, our faces inches apart as I pinned her to the car door with my body. Fury burned in every line of her face, giving her glaring brown eyes a breathtaking intensity that was both surprisingly attractive and freakin’ intimidating.